L4: Social Relationships

Question 1

Describe changes in peer and family relationships during adolescence

Answer 1

1) There is less time spent with family and more time spent with friends
* This occurs across cultures, but in traditional cultures often the family relationship remains strong, while in Western cultures it weakens. Girls spend more time with family than boys do in this time
* There are more positive emotions when spending time with friends than when spending time with family. This is because friends mirror your feelings and make you feel accepted.
* Friends are preferred for discussing personal topics, while family is still preferred for discussing future occupation and education
* Having self-disclosure in the child-parent relationship during childhood is related to also having self-disclosure in friendships in adolescence

2) Friends become more important
* Peer groups become the reference group, which influences an individual’s sense of identity
* Friends become a source of companionship and intimacy, while in childhood friends were people you engaged in shared activities with
* Friendships become increasingly stable with age

Question 2

Define intimacy

Answer 2

The degree to which two people share personal knowledge, thoughts, and feelings

Question 3

Explain why intimacy becomes more important in friendships during adolescence and emergent adulthood

Answer 3

• There is increased (need for) intimacy in adolescence because advanced cognitive abilities allow for greater perspective taking and empathy
• Intimacy becomes more important in all friendships, but girls tend to have more intimate friendships than boys
• Intimacy becomes even more important during emerging adulthood, when family interactions are less frequent. It becomes less important as emerging adults find romantic partners

Question 4

Explain the different forms of support friends can provide

Answer 4

• Informational support: providing advice and guidance in solving personal problems
• Instrumental support: providing help with tasks
• Companionship support: reliance on each other as companions in social activities
• Esteem support: providing congratulations for success and consolation for failure

I asked my esteemed companion for information about his instrument

Question 5

Define informational support

Answer 5

Providing advice and guidance in solving personal problems

Question 6

Define instrumental support

Answer 6

Providing help with tasks

Question 7

Define companionship support

Answer 7

Reliance on each other as companions in social activities

Question 8

Define esteem support

Answer 8

Providing congratulations for success and consolation for failure

Question 9

Explain the relationship between intimacy and perspective taking

Answer 9

There is a reciprocal relationship between intimacy and perspective taking
* Intimacy amongst friends further enhances perspective taking abilities.
* Self-disclosure and emotional labeling increases the amount of personal insight you have about yourself

Question 10

elements

Explain Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Answer 10

• Love consists of three essential elements, which create different kinds of love when combined

Elements:
* Passion = motivational component of love, involving (sexual) attraction, desire, and intense emotions
* Intimacy = involves closeness, trust, bonding, and caring for each other
* Commitment = the decision to love someone and maintain that love over time

Question 11

Describe the different types of love in Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Answer 11

• Infatuation: ✓Passion
• Liking: ✓Intimacy
• Empty Love: ✓Commitment
• Romantic Love: ✓Passion, ✓Intimacy
• Fatuous Love: ✓Passion, ✓Commitment
• Companionate Love: ✓Intimacy, ✓Commitment
• Consummate Love: ✓Passion, ✓Intimacy, ✓Commitment

* P I C
* I LERF CC
* 1 - 2 - 3 - 12 - 13 - 23 - 123

Question 12

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define infatuation

Answer 12

✓ Passion
✕ Intimacy
✕ Commitment

Question 13

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define liking

Answer 13

✕ Passion
✓ Intimacy
✕ Commitment

Question 14

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define empty love

Answer 14

✕ Passion
✕ Intimacy
✓ Commitment

Question 15

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define romantic love

Answer 15

✓ Passion
✓ Intimacy
✕ Commitment

Question 16

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define fatuous love

Answer 16

✓ Passion
✕ Intimacy
✓ Commitment

Question 17

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define companionate love

Answer 17

✕ Passion
✓ Intimacy
✓ Commitment

Question 18

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Define consummate love

Answer 18

✓ Passion
✓ Intimacy
✓ Commitment

Question 19

List reasons why adolescents form romantic relationships

Answer 19

• Recreation
• Courtship
• Learning
• Status
• Intimacy
• Companionship

I went on a recreational stroll to the courthouse to learn about the state of my inmate companion

Question 20

What are characteristics of romantic relationships in adolescence?

Answer 20

• Intense emotions
• Sexual activity
• Social companionship (in leisure activities)
• Mutual caring

Question 21

Define selective association

Answer 21

The principle that most people tend to choose friends who are similar to themselves

Question 22

Provide alternative explanations for the correlation between friends’ risk-taking behaviours

Answer 22

• Risk-behaviour of both yourself and your friends are self-reported by only one person. There is a tendency for adolescents to think their friends are more similar to themselves than they really are
• Peers might select each other based on the pre-existing similarities in risk-taking behaviours/attitudes

Question 23

Define cliques

Answer 23

Small groups of friends who know each other well, do things together, and form a regular social group

Question 24

What comprises adolescent social groups?

Answer 24

• Cliques: small groups of friends who know each other well, do things together, and form a regular social group
• Crowds: larger reputation-based groups of adolescents who are not necessarily friends and who do not necessarily spend much time together, but who do share norms, interests, or values

Question 25

Define crowds

Answer 25

* **Crowds**: *Larger reputation-based* groups of adolescents who are *not necessarily friends* and who do *not necessarily spend much time together*, but who do *share norms, interests, or values* * Function = defining your own identity and the identity of others

Question 26

What characterizes cliques in adolescence?

Answer 26

Cliques are often characterized by **antagonistic interactions** and **relational aggression** * Antagonistic interactions (ridicule, sarcasm) serve to promote or establish the *dominance hierarchy* of a clique and *reinforce conformity* * Relational aggression: form of nonphysical aggression that harms others by damaging their relationships

Question 27

Define relational aggression

Answer 27

Form of nonphysical aggression that harms others by damaging their relationships

Question 28

What is the developmental trajectory of crowds in adolescence?

Answer 28

* Crowds become more important in **early and middle adolescence** and then decline in late adolescence Reasons: * **Increased cognitive capacities** allow for greater understanding of the abstract labels of crowds * **Identity issues** are central in early/middle adolescence

Question 29

Define sociometry

Answer 29

A method for assessing (un)popularity that involves having students rate the social status of other students

Question 30

Describe characteristics of popular students

Answer 30

* Popularity is related to **physical attractiveness** and **social skills** * **Social skills**: skills for successfully handling social relations and getting along well with others

Question 31

List types of unpopular adolescents

Answer 31

1) Rejected 2) Neglected 3) Controversial

Question 32

Describe neglected adolescents

Answer 32

* **Neglected adolescents**: students who have few or no friends are are largely unnoticed by their peers * Characterized by *avoidance* of group settings

Question 33

Describe rejected adolescents

Answer 33

* **Rejected adolescents**: students who are actively disliked by their peers * Characterized by deficits in *social information processing*, in the form of a *hostile attributional bias*

Question 34

Describe controversial adolescents

Answer 34

Students who are **aggressive** but also **possess social skills**, making them evoke strong positive and negative reactions from peers

Question 35

# risk-taking & peer presence Describe the Driving Simulator Game

Answer 35

**Method:** * Participants are driving and are presented with a yellow light. They can choose to keep driving, which increases their points but also increases the likelihood of crashing, or they can choose to stop, which decreases their points. * Participants complete the game in a solo condition as well as in the presence of peers. **Results:** * There was more risky driving in the peer condition for adolescents, which was not observed for young adults or adults

Question 36

# risk-taking + peer influence Describe the Power of Like study

Answer 36

**Method:** * fMRI paradigm where participants scroll on a simulated Instagram. *Independent Variables:* * Number of likes (many vs few) * Picture content (neutral vs risky) *Dependent Variables:* * Liking the photo * Neural activity **Results:** * Adolescents were more likely to like photos with many likes (both neutral and risky pictures) * Greater activity in social system and reward system when viewing photos with many likes * Reduced activity in the cognitive control system when viewing risky photos